1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to means to move and control a boat through a floating medium such as water without use of a motor or sail propulsion. More specifically this invention relates to means used to propel a craft towards a desired location, such as a dock or shore or another water craft, by engaging the water with a hand-held device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hand held paddles and oars are known in the prior art to include generally a flat member portion and extended member terminating in a handle. Paddles are designed to be used by holding the handle with one hand and towards the middle of the paddle with the other hand. The working or flat end of the paddle is placed in the water and then by pulling the paddle with the hand towards the center of the pole and pushing the paddle with the first hand, the boat is propelled. Paddles are commonly used to propel small, usually narrow craft such as canoes and kayaks. Oars are usually used in pairs. The oars are similar in construction to paddles. The oars are placed in oar locks. The oar lock constrains the mid portion of the oar to act as a pivot, so that when the handle end of the oar is pulled towards the fore part of a boat, the flat end of the oar engages the water to propel the boat towards forward. Oars are most commonly used in small boats, wider than canoes and kayaks, called row boats.
Oars and paddles are usually considered to be the primary sources of propulsion os small water craft such as in canoes, kayaks and row boats. Oars and paddles are often considered auxiliary propulsion means to small motor or sail boats. When the size of the boat exceeds fifteen feet primary propulsion systems such as motors or sails are used, oars and paddles becoming very difficult and tedious to use.
A typical problems for boats is docking or approaching other water craft. Often because of unpredictable current or winds, it is difficult to safely move a boat to a dock or other location at a speed that avoids collision with the dock or other objects. There are several strategies for boats with motors or sails to minimize collisions with the dock. For example, one method is to approach the dock into the wind to provide a shorter stopping distance, while a crew member stands fore to repel the boat from the dock should the speed be too fast for safe moorage or grasp a line or other part of the dock or other boat for moorage. Only experience and luck provide a perfect speed of the boat to bring the boat to the dock or objective and within grasping distance without forward moment that may endanger the boat or other craft.
A common tool used by many boatmen is the boat mooring tool or docking pole. The docking pole expands the distance from the dock to which the pilot must bring the boat, from an arm-length to the length of the docking pole. A docking pole comprises a extended central member with a hook element and bumper means at a working end and a handle or grasping means at the other end. The hook element permits a line or other object to be pulled while the bumper means stays or repels the boat from the dock or other objects during the docking procedure. The pole is often made of wood or aluminum, is ideally light weight. Docking poles are often available with telescoping sections to extend the working end much farther than conventional poles, but collapsible to a smaller length for storage. The collapsing docking pole can be reduced in size to approximately the length of a common, non-extendable docking pole.
As often happens, even with an extended docking pole, the boat will not be brought within grasping distance of the dock. In this event the primary propulsion system must often be deployed to propel the craft closer to the dock. In the instance of a sail boat, this can be a daunting task, since sails must be opened. In the instance of a motor boat, careful control of the engine will be needed to avoid collision with other boats and dangers.
Ongoing efforts have been made to find a safe, simple and convenient means to slowly and safely propel a boat closer to a mooring position at a dock or other craft without deploying the primary propulsion system. Some boaters use the common oar or paddle. For reasons expressed above, these tools have proved to be difficult and sometimes ineffective because the of the limitations of their designs.
More specifically, it has been sought to develop a tool which can be used to propel a water craft in situations where the craft need be moved only a short distance to be within a grasping distance. The tool must be convenient to use, effective and available whenever the situation arises as described above. Ideally, the tool should be lightweight and compact yet work unfailingly whenever needed, perhaps in conjunction with other common tools used at the time of docking a boat.
My invention is particularly useful as a means to provide a safe approach of a boat to a dock in where it is important to avoid a collision of the boat to the dock. It takes advantage of the fact that certain shaped items provide a fluid drag that could be used to propel a boat slowly through water.
My invention is a water craft propulsion tool providing for a means to propel a water craft through its floating medium. The invention uses an extended member such as a pole having a handle on one end to manipulate the working end of the tool and a water grasper on the other end. The water grasper is an element that provides high resistance to fluid flow when pulled. By pulling the tool through the floating medium, a drag force is applied to move the craft in the direction of the pull. The tool is used as described or in combination with a known, simple water craft tool commonly known as a docking pole, an extended member such as a pole having a handle on one end to manipulate the working end of the tool and a line hook-mar resistant bumper at the working end.
That is, my tool may be used alone or when used in combination with a docking pole to first propel a water craft towards a dock, then when the craft is within grasping reach of the working end of the docking pole, the elements can be used to safely dock the water craft.
In use, the working end of my invention is placed into the water and pulled. The resistance to flow of the floating medium produces a drag in proportion to the pulling force which is balanced by the boat moving in the direction of the pulling force.
When my invention is used in combination with a docking pole, the water grasping element is provided with a means to retreat from the working end or to collapse in order to avoid interference the hook and bumper means.
My invention provides for a number of alternate fluid grasping elements comprising rigid shapes and configurations, some moving between a working end and a medium position, others opening and closing in the manner as an umbrella, with rotatively mounted support ribs, rectangular grasping elements in various shapes, such as a hoe or shovel, other multiple fluid grasping elements laterally extending from the extended member. The invention also contemplates other fluid grasping elements of flexible membranes such as NYLON or canvas attached to rigid supports that rotate between pulling and pushing as well as flexible membranes that expand and contract with flexible lines or cords.
Both rigid and flexible grasping elements as described in these specification provide for high fluid resistance when expanded and low fluid resistance when collapsed, the flexible members fully open to engage the fluid and propel the boat forward when the tool is pulled; the flexible members closed or collapsed when the tool is pushed through the floating medium.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a means to propel a boat through its floating medium in a safe and secure manner.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a means to propel a boat in water towards a dock or shore which is convenient, with minimum effort and maximum control.
It is another object of the present invention to attain the foregoing objects and also to provide a safe, convenient way to slowly propel the boat closer to the dock without deploying the primary propulsion system without the use of the common oar or paddle.
It is further an object of my invention to provide for a tool which can be used to propel a boat in situations where the boat need be moved only a short distance to reach a dock grasping distance. Further objectives of my invention include the advantages of a tool that is convenient to use, effective and available whenever the need arises, a tool that is also lightweight and compact yet works unfailingly whenever needed. Lastly, my tool is designed to be used in conjunction with another common tool, a docking pole to take advantage of the handle and extended member features of that device
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description thereof.